KYRGYZ RETURN ASYLUM SEEKER TO UZBEKISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 000504

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (GEHRENBECK)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/19/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KG
SUBJECT: KYRGYZ RETURN ASYLUM SEEKER TO UZBEKISTAN

BISHKEK 00000504 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: CDA Lee Litzenberger, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: UNHCR confirmed that Kyrgyz authorities
extradited Erkin Halikov, an Uzbek citizen, back to
Uzbekistan on May 14 at the request of the Uzbek government.
Halikov, who was in prison in Kyrgyzstan, had sought asylum
seeker status, but Kyrgyz officials refused to register him,
saying that they did not register convicts. Despite private
appeals from UNHCR and a public appeal from Human Rights
Watch, Kyrgyz officials allowed Uzbek authorities to remove
Halikov from the Osh prison facility. UNHCR vows to protest
these actions privately with the Kyrgyz government but may
refrain from public statements for fear of causing further
problems for Halikov.

HALIKOV ARRESTED AND TRIED
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2. (C) On May 16, PolOff met with Vitaly Maslousky,
Protection Officer at the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR),regarding the arrest, conviction, and
extradition of Uzbek citizen Erkin Halikov. Maslousky said
that the UNHCR lawyers met with Kyrgyz officials and with
Halikov in the southern city of Osh on April 26 to discuss
his case. Halikov confirmed that he illegally crossed into
Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan in early August 2007 and by August 21,
2007 was arrested and held in pre-trial detention, together
with another Uzbek, Jamalidin Abdumajitov, and three Kyrgyz
citizens. On March 6, 2008 a Jalalabad city court found
Halikov guilty of crossing the border illegally and failing
to report a crime and sentenced him to four years in prison.
Abdumajitov was convicted of numerous charges, to include
attempted murder and extremist activity.

UZBEKS PUT THE SQUEEZE ON KYRGYZ OFFICIALS TO EXTRADITE
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3. (C) Maslousky said that the Uzbek prosecutor general
requested that Halikov be extradited on two separate
occasions, just three weeks after his arrest and then again
after Halikov was convicted. Maslousky added that UNHCR's
sources told him that the request was based on a case related
to religious extremism and attempts to disrupt constitutional
order; however, Kyrgyz authorities had refused to share the
actual extradition requests with UNHCR, despite numerous
appeals by a UNHCR lawyer. One government source told UNHCR
that Halikov's only known connection with religious extremism
came from the fact that he once had lunch with Abdumajitov.


4. (C) Maslousky said that by April 18, the Kyrgyz
prosecutor general's office had agreed to send Halikov back
to Uzbekistan to serve his sentence out in an Uzbek prison.
A prosecutor later told UNHCR that this was a part of the
"normal cooperation" between the two countries, even though
they are unable to convince the Uzbeks to reciprocate with
Kyrgyz citizens arrested in Uzbekistan. The prosecutor
claimed that the Kyrgyz government would have "problems with
bilateral relations" if it did not agree to extradite the
prisoner.

HALIKOV DISAPPEARS INTO NIGHT WITH UZBEK AUTHORITIES
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5. (C) Maslousky said that Halikov failed to apply for asylum
before being extradited back to Uzbekistan. Halikov told
UNHCR lawyers that he initially refrained from applying for
asylum due to fears it might cause more problems with the
Uzbeks. Halikov later applied to the Kyrgyz State Committee
for Migration and Employment (SCME) for registration, a
necessary first step toward asylum status. However, the Osh
office of the SCME denied his application, later explaining
to UNHCR that they refuse to register convicts. On May 12,
Uzbek authorities arrived at the prison in Osh where Halikov
was being held and requested his release into their custody.

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The Uzbeks encountered vehicle problems and were unable to
take Halikov at that time. Fearing the inevitable, on May
13, UNHCR sent a letter to the SCME requesting that Halikov
be registered, allowing the asylum case to proceed.
Maslousky said that the UN special rapporteur also sent a
letter to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking that
the Kyrgyz government refuse Uzbekistan's request for
extradition of Halikov. Finally, on May 14, Halikov was
extradited back to Uzbekistan. No further information on his
whereabouts is known.

UNHCR'S HANDS TIED
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6. (C) Maslousky said that UNHCR was left with few options to
assist Halikov. He said that a senior officer from Geneva
plans a visit to Kyrgyzstan shortly and will protest the
extradition. He doubts that UNHCR will go public with the
protest for fear of creating additional problems for Halikov.
He also planned to contact the International Committee of
the Red Cross in Tashkent and request that they try to check
up on Halikov, if possible.

COMMENT
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7. (C) Despite the private appeals from UNHCR to the Kyrgyz
government and an open appeal from Human Rights Watch on May
13, Kyrgyz officials went ahead and allowed Halikov's return
to Uzbekistan. Kyrgyz officials told UNHCR that this was a
matter of "normal cooperation" between the countries for
Halikov to serve the remainder of his sentence in an Uzbek
prison; however, Uzbek officials were interested in Halikov
long before he was convicted in Kyrgyzstan. Maslousky
commented that the Uzbek authorities had been quick to
request that Halikov be returned and adamant that the Kyrgyz
follow through with the extradition, but he knew little about
Halikov's past history that might explain why. As this case
indicates, protecting the rights of Uzbek asylum seekers will
continue to be an uphill struggle in Kyrgyzstan.
LITZENBERGER